Behind the Façades in France: What expats and the mainstream media (French and American alike) fail to notice (or fail to tell you) about French attitudes, principles, values, and official positions…

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Where Did the Fear of Poisoned Halloween Candy Come From?

Where Did the Fear of Poisoned Halloween Candy Come From?
asks Dan Lewis of Now I Know at the Smithsonian.

Although there have been reports of razor blades and other foreign
objects embedded in Halloween candy (or apples—although anyone giving
out an apple on Halloween is already suspect), these dangers are almost
always obvious with the most cursory glance.

What about poison, which, being
invisible and generally hard to detect, is the more nefarious way to
taint candy? You have little reason to be concerned there either.
Landers stated, “many reports” of such terrible acts have occurred,
however, they are almost entirely the stuff of myth.

Almost entirely.

For nearly 30 years, University of Delaware sociologist Joel Best has
been investigating allegations of strangers poisoning kids’ Halloween
candy. As of this writing, he hasn’t identified a single confirmed
example of a stranger murdering a child in this fashion.

Another danger to society, which various governments — from local to state-lever — have attempted to respond to and to counter, which turns out to be overwrought, exaggerated, and a simple myth…